Lujan Grisham’s campaign reported these came from nearly 6,500 contributors.

Lujan Grisham’s campaign reported these came from nearly 6,500 contributors.

She now has nearly $1.6 million cash on hand, after spending nearly $520,000.

Some of her maximum donations came from investor George Soros, the Pueblo of Pojoaque, hedge fund manager S. Donald Sussman and former State Senator Lisa Curtis.

Two of her opponents in the primary also announced raising big money. State Sen. Joseph Cervantes announced raising just over $555,000 and now has nearly $750,000 cash on hand.

But a significant part of that—$400,000—came from loans Cervantes made to his campaign. He also had $190,000 in unpaid campaign debt from previous periods. Cervantes spent just under $55,000 in the campaign period.

Cervantes received donations from businesses he’s associated with, as well as family members, including his children.

Apodaca raised just over $900,000, with $450,000 coming from a loan to his campaign.

Apodaca received several donations from medical cannabis producers, including $5,000 from Ultra Health.

Peter DeBenedittis did not have a campaign finance report online Monday night.

Republican raises big too

Steve Pearce reported raising just over $1,000,000 since announcing his gubernatorial campaign. Pearce is the lone Republican running for governor so far.

CSI Aviation, which is owned by Republican Allen Weh, a number of oil and gas companies and executives and Donald Rumsfeld and his wife are among those who donated the maximum to Pearce’s campaign. Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush, listed his occupation as “author.”

Pearce is also attempting to use the money he raised for federal races in his gubernatorial campaign. He has nearly $1 million in his federal campaign coffers, but Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver says that money is subject to the state’s contribution limits—meaning he could only use $5,500 of it for each of the primary and general election campaigns.

Pearce filed a lawsuit to use the money, which is pending.

Commissioner of Public Lands

Public Regulations Commissioner Pat Lyons raised $23,475 for his Commissioner of Public Lands race. Lyons is the only Republican seeking the position.

Democrat George Munoz raised $120,007, nearly all in the form of loans from the candidate to his campaign. Outside of those loans, Munoz raised just $8,100, $4,400 of which came from Devon Energy.

Garrett VeneKlasen, also a Democrat, raised over $91,000. He did not loan his campaign any money.

Former State Land Commissioner Ray Powell’s campaign finance report showed he raised more than $81,000, including a $50,000 loan from the candidate to the campaign.

Correction: This story previously said Ray Powell’s campaign finance report was not available online. It was available, though not in the 2018 candidate section of the website.

Related

More About

Public health orders restricting some businesses and public gatherings are slowly being lifted, but the New Mexico Supreme Court’s restrictions on eviction proceedings and limitations on civil cases in general are still in place. State Supreme Court Justice Shannon Bacon said she expects an increase of civil cases once courts are fully functioning.
“What we’re anticipating with the health pandemic and the downturn of the economy and a really high unemployment rate are issues that really raise their head in the same way they did in 2008 and 2009 with the recession,” Bacon said.

U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham will take on a new title in January when she becomes New Mexico’s next governor. Ending the nearly two-year-long campaign for governor, Lujan Grisham and her opponent Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce each addressed their respective supporters Tuesday night.

Of the nearly three-dozen federal candidates for four races up for grabs in November, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ben Ray Luján led the campaign finance race, raising just over $1 million in the final three months of 2019. He was followed by 2nd Congressional District Democratic incumbent Xochitl Torres Small, who raised just over $900,000.

“It’s going to be a nail-biter,” Garrett VeneKlasen said, early in the night as he and fellow Democrat Stephanie Garcia Richard were neck-and-neck in the race for New Mexico State Land Commissioner. And indeed it was, as the two traded the lead throughout the night, with Garcia Richard, a state representative, pulling ahead as the final results from Bernalillo County came in late Tuesday night, giving her a two percentage point lead over VeneKlasen. Despite a last-minute ad campaign, state Sen. George Muñoz finished almost 15 percentage points behind the two front-runners.

In a historic defeat, Neomi Martinez-Parra won Senate District 35, defeating state Senator Sen. John Arthur Smith who has held the seat for 32 years. Martinez-Parra’s win did not come as a surprise Wednesday.

Join the Conversation on Twitter

Recent Posts

A day after state health officials announced the highest single-day number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, they announced 129 additional confirmed cases and five additional deaths related to the disease.

State Human Services Department Secretary Dr. David Scrase offered some data supporting the use of masks and social distancing to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
The use of face masks in public has become a polarizing topic among some communities as the state has loosened its restrictions on businesses, including closures, over the last week.
While cloth masks aren’t suitable for use in healthcare settings, Scrase said they are still useful at preventing the spread of the illness among the general public.

Public health orders restricting some businesses and public gatherings are slowly being lifted, but the New Mexico Supreme Court’s restrictions on eviction proceedings and limitations on civil cases in general are still in place.

Matthew Reichbach is the editor of the NM Political Report. The former founder and editor of the NM Telegram, Matthew was also a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and one of the original hires at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation and formerly published, “The Morning Word,” a daily political news summary for NM Telegram and the Santa Fe Reporter.